Sex and the City: The Wild Life of Ashley Alexandra Dupre

March 14, 2008

Now that we know who “Kristen” is, it’s time for some more backstory to emerge from the woman who brought down the governor. The Post touts exclusive photos of the high-priced call girl, but the News has the more compelling story.

In an interview with former pimp Jason Itzler (who himself pleaded guilty to running a prostitution ring back in 2006), we learn that Dupre was “probably the sexiest, hottest girl I had.” Itzler claims Dupre was a customer favorite, and even once was dispatched with some of her colleagues to what the News calls “a night of role playing” with actor Charlie Sheen. The Sheen joke is too easy. Feel free to insert your own. Something seems a little off here, though. Even the News peppers in a few “Itzler claimed he met Dupre in the Gansevoort Hotel” (emphasis ours) and “Itzler…said he recognized Dupre after seeing her photo while appearing Wednesday on CNN.” Could this be too good to be true? Is the self-proclaimed “King of All Pimps” angling for another 15 minutes in the spotlight? The News checked with the Manhattan DA’s office and found that Dupre was not arrested when Itzler’s operation was shuttered.

The Post tries to have it both ways in its coverage of Dupre today. They brag about the exclusive “glamour shots” of the most famous hooker in America, yet the coverage of Dupre has a whiff of righteous indignation about it. They did, after all, use “BAD GIRL” as the front-page headline. Andrea Peyser notes Dupre and Spitzer “deserve each other. One is mentally challenged by accident of birth. The other is that way by choice.” Yeah, we don’t really get who’s supposed to be who either.

The Post is portraying Dupre as a spoiled brat looking to cash in on her newfound fame. The News is doing this too, but for some reason its coverage comes off as much more sympathetic. Maybe it’s music critic Jim Farber’s defense of Dupre’s music. He admits it’s not a groundbreaking achievement, but that the “cookie-cutter” track “may well say something worse about the state of dance-pop than it does about the quality of Dupre’s talent.” Or, it might just be that the News didn’t splash the banner headline “OMG! I JUST DID THE GOVERNOR!” over pages 4 and 5. Good one, Post!